Haiti has declared a state of emergency and curfew following gang violence and a massive jailbreak that involved over 4,000 inmates.
The government’s decisive action comes in the wake of weekend events that led to a major breach at Haiti’s largest detention facilities, prompting a wide-scale manhunt for the escaped convicts, among whom are murderers, kidnappers, and gang members.
The curfew, effective for 72 hours, restricts movement between 6 pm and 5 am.
Finance Minister Patrick Boisvert, temporarily assuming the role of prime minister in Ariel Henry’s absence, stated, “The police were ordered to use all legal means at their disposal to enforce the curfew and apprehend all offenders.”
Henry is currently abroad, working to garner support for a United Nations-backed security force aimed at stabilizing Haiti amidst its conflict with increasingly influential crime groups.
Violence escalated following an assault on the National Penitentiary, where it was reported that only a fraction of its inmates remained post-attack.
The aftermath saw a disturbing scene with several prisoners dead, a situation corroborated by both local and international news agencies noting the absence of prison guards and the open state of the facility’s main entrance.
An inmate, recounting the night’s terror, told Reuters, “We were asleep when we heard the sound of bullets. The cell barriers are broken.”
At least nine people, including four police officers, had lost their lives since Thursday as gangs intensified their coordinated assaults on state institutions in Port-au-Prince.
According to the U.N., Haiti’s National Police, comprising approximately 9,000 officers, provides security for over 11 million people. However, they often find themselves overwhelmed and outmatched by gangs, which are believed to have control over as much as 80% of Port-au-Prince.
Gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, also known as Barbecue, has been pointed to as a catalyst for the recent upsurge in violence, seeking to de-throne Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
The government’s response included an appeal to the populace for calm and a vow to pursue all escapees and those behind the violent outbreaks.
Over 15,000 people have been forced to evacuate their residences over the past few days, with ten locations housing internally displaced people evacuated over the weekend, according to the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).
There have been no elections in Haiti since 2016. Prime Minister Henry assumed office in 2021 following Moise’s assassination and was expected to resign by early February.
However, during a regional summit in Guyana, he announced that elections would only be organized by August 2025 once the situation had stabilized.
